Lubricating apparatus



@Y 17 1936 E. W. DAVIS ET AL LUBRICATIN@ APPARATUS nx fw@ Fled Jan. 28, 1935 Patented Nov. 17, 1936 LUBRICATING APPARATUS Ernest W.' Davis, Oak Park, and Lynn Williams, Jr., Winnetka, Ill., assignors to Stewart-Warner Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Virginia Application January 28, 1935, Serial No. 3,712

4 Claims.4 (Cl. 285-169) Our invention relates generally to high pressure lubricating apparatus, and more particularly to couplers for making detachable connections with lubricant receiving fittings forming parts of such systems.

In lone form of high pressure lubricating system now in general use, the lubricant receiving ttings are formed with an enlarged head and the lubricant compressor is provided with a coupler having jaws which are lubricant pressed to engage the head of the tting and in which a lubricant pressed plunger is slidable within the jaws and adapted to contact with the end' of the iitting toform the lubricant-tight connection. A

l5 coupler of this type is disclosed in the copending application of Joseph Bystricky, Serial No. 707,687, led January 22, 1934.

Our present invention constitutes an improvement of the coupler disclosed in said application in that a double seal is effected between the coupler and the fitting, both being metal-to-metal seals and both permitting considerable angular displacement between the axes of the coupler and tting.

It is thus an object of our invention to provide an improved coupler for high pressure lubricating A systems for making connections with lubricant receiving fittings by a plurality of metal-to-metal seals, and in which considerable universal movement between the coupler and tting is possible.

A further object is to provide an improved vent valve for lubricant pressure actuated couplers.

Other objects will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which 1 is an-elevatipn of the=discharge conduit of a high pressure lubricant compressor, terml nating in oui` improved coupler;

4o Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional View of our improved coupler shown connected to the head of a lubricant receiving tting;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

L5 Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the coupler connected to a lubricant receiving tting with the axes of these partsv at an angle to one another.

The coupler of our invention is adapted for use 5o with any one of anumber of different types of high pressure lubricant compressors, either power or manually operated, and is herein shown as it is used with a power operated compressor. The

l lubricant compressor itself is not illustrated, but

. 55 is adaptedto have its discharge conduit connected to an inlet tting lll forming part of a'iiow control valve l2. Operation of the handlel4 of the valve I2 permits iiow of lubricant from the lubricant compressor to the hose I6 and thence through a swivel connection Il to a coupler i8. 5 The coupler I8 is of the type adapted to make a sealed connection with so-called vpin ttings and is here shown as being connected to tting 20 of this type which forms part of an adapter having a handle 22 and a pipe extension 24. The 10 coupler of our invention is secured to the end of the pipe extension 24. The coupler comprises a pressure relief valve body 26, one end of which is threaded to the pipe extension 24 and has a casing 28 threaded to its other end, a suitable 15 gasket 30 being provided to seal the latter connection. The casing 28 has a cylindrical bore 32 which terminates in an inwardly tapering cam surface 34 which cooperates with a plurality, usually three, jaws 36. The jaws are pressed 20 outwardly by a compression coil spring 38 which acts upon an annular piston 4D, the piston being coniined'between a pair of washers 42, 44, the latter washer pressing against the inner ends of the jaws 36..

The jaws 36 are suitably conformed to engage the spherical surface 46 formed on the head 48 of a lubricant receiving iitting 50. The fitting 50 is provided with a flat tip surrounded by a circular relatively sharp dirt-cutting edge 52 and 30 provided with an inlet opening 54 dened by a relatively sharp edge 56. A nozzle 58 is longitudinally slidable in the annular 'piston 40 and at its outer end has a concave spherical contact surface 66 for universal contact with the dirt- 35 cutting edge 52 of the fitting. The inner end of thel nozzle 58 is recessed to receive a packing 62 forming exible sealing means for a high pressure sealing member 64. The member 64 terminates in a tip 66 of generally hemispherical con- 40 tour and of suiiiciently small size to `penetrate the inlet opening 54 of the fittingand to engage the edge 56 surrounding' this opening. Themember 64 is provided with a longitudinal lubricant conducting passageway 68 which terminates 45 in a small drilled passageway 10 which intersects the hemispherical surface of the tip 66. The inner end 12 of the member 64 is of Aslightly enlargedidiameter and is longitudinally slidable in the packing 62. This packing is suiiiciently elas- 50 tic that the member 64 may be moved angularly as indicated in Fig. 4. v

'A flanged apertured bushing 14 is pressed into the inner end of the member 64 and forms a seat f or the compression coil spring 16. The spring 16 lies mainly within abore 18 formed in the relief valve body 26. l

The body 26 has a passageway' 80 connecting the pipe 24 with the bore 18, this passageway being intersected by a transversely drilled hole 82. A needle valve seat 84 is formed at the end of the drilled hole 82 for cooperation with the conical surface 86 of a relief valve 88 which is screwed into a threaded bore 90 and has a knurled head 82 A wire 94 extends from the end of the valve 88, being secured therein by a loop portion 86 of the wire positioned within a threaded bore 90 formed in the valve 88. The bore 98 is closed by a cap screw |00 which forms a plug forthe openalways at hand in case such accidental clogging of the passageway 18 requires its use. A vent passageway |04 connects the threaded bore 90 with the atmosphere.

In normal usel the coupler is pressedl against a fitting to be supplied with lubricant. this pressure forcing the jaws'36 and piston 40 inwardly against the pressure of the spring 38 .a sufficient distance to permit the jaws to clear the portion of the head "48 of the fitting of greatest diameter, whereupon the spring 38-will force the jaws outwardly into engagement beneath the head of the fitting as shown in Fig. 2.

Upon application of lubricant pressure, as by opening the flow control valve I2, the force of the spring 38 will be supplemented by the lubricant pressure acting upon the piston 40 to force the jaws more rmly into contact with the tting, absolutely precluding its removal from the coupler. The lubricant pressure acting upon the exposed inner end of the nozzle 58 will force the latter outwardly to cause the concave spherical contact surface 60 thereof to forni a lubricant-tight contact seal with the dirt-cutting edge 52 of the fitting. Similarly the lubricant pressure acting upon vthe exposed inner end of the high pressure sealing member 64 will supplement the force of the spring I6 and cause the hemispherical contact tip thereof more tightly to engage and seal against the edge '56 `of the fitting.

Inasmuc'h as it is somewhat dimcult for the l operator to place the coupler in axial augment with the fitting, or to maintain it in such alignment, the high pressure sealing member 64 is made capable of slight tilting or rocking movement as indicated in Fig. 4. It will be observed from Fig. 4 that1the contour of the hemispherical tip 66 of the member 64 issuch that the seal is maintained even though the angle between the axes of the coupler and fitting is relatively great. The surfaces of the jaws 36 which engage the fitting are likewise conformed to permit considerable angular movement. By constructing the coupler of our invention in this manner we have substantially eliminated the possibility of breakage of the hemisphericaltip 66 due to movement of the coupler out of alignment with the fitting.

Ir tnabearing .being supplied 'withlubrlcant y is obstructed in any way and the pressure in the coupler therefore does not drop when the control valve I2 is closed after sufficient lubricant has been supplied to the bearing, the valve 88 may be opened to relieve the lubricant pressure in the coupler. A small amount of lubricant may then flow from the coupler to the atmosphere through the vent passageway |04, thus reducing the pressure rwithin. the coupler to that of the atmosphere. When the"pressure within the coupler has been thus or otherwise relieved, the coupler may be disconnected from the fitting by tilting it slightly beyond the position in which it is shown in 'Figure 4, and pulling it from the fitting.

It will be noted. that the spherical surface is the only portion of the tip 66 which bears against the fitting so th'at as the coupler is tilted relative to the fitting to a greater extent than shown in Figure 4, the sealing member 64 is cammed upwardly. Thus damage to the spherical surface of the tip 66 or breakage of the tip is avoided. l The size of the opening in the nozzle 58 through which the tip projects, and the radii of curvature of surface 60 and of the spherical surface of the tip 66, are so correlated with dimensions of the head of the fitting that the two contact seals are broken substantially simultaneously as the coupler is disengaged from the fitting.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment y of our invention, it is to be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and we do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth but desire to avail ourselves of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A couple/r for high pressure lubricating systems employing lubricant-receiving fittings, comprising a casing, a plurality of jaws mounted for sliding movement in'said casingv and having end portions for engagement with a lubricant-receiving fitting, a nozzle part located within said jaws and having at one end a concave spherical end surface for engagement with the peripheral edge of the tip end surface of the fitting, and having its other end exposed to the pressure of the lubricant within said casing, said nozzle part' having a bore extending there- 'through and terminating in said concave contact surface, a spring and lubricant-pressed ly within the bore of said nozzle part and movable longitudinally and laterally with respect to said part, said member having a'convex tip lprojecting through the outer end of said nozzle part and capable of making contact with the edge of said fitting surrounding its inlet opening to make a lubricant-tight sealed connection with the ntting. said outer end of said nozzle part being of sumciently small diameter to permit substantial lateral movement in said nozzle bore adjacent said contact surface, and means forming la ilexible seal between said nozzle part and said contact member.

2. A coupler for high-pressure lubricating systems employing lubricant-receiving fittings, each having an end face of small diameter surrounded by a dirt-cutting edge and provided with an inlet opening, comprising a casing, means within the casing for mechanically attaching the coupler to'a lubricant-receiving fitting, a nozzle slidable within said casing and having an apertured concave seating surface cooperable with the dirtcutting edgeof the tting, an annular packing carried by'sald nozzle, and a high-pressure seal- 75 ing element longitudinally slidable and tiltable in said packing, said element having a sealing tip extending through the aperture in the seating surface of said nozzle,- said tip being ot sufilciently small diameter to permit substantial lateral movement thereof in said aperture, and being engageable with the edge of the itting surrounding its inlet opening t o forni a lubricant-tight seal therewith.

3. A coupler for high pressure lubricating systems employing lubricant-receiving ttings, each having an end face of small diameter surrounded by a dirt-cutting edge and provided with an inlet opening. comprising' a casing, means within the casing for mechanically attaching the coupler to alubricant-receiving iltting, a nozzle slidable within said casing and having an apertured concave seating surface cooperable with the dirtcutting edge of the tting. an annular packing carried by said nozzle, and a high-pressure sealing element longitudinally slidable and tiltable in said packing, said element having a spherical- 1y convex sealing tip extending through the aperture in the seating surface of said nozzle, said tip being of suiilcientlysmall diameter to permit substantial lateral movement lthereof in said aperture, and being engageable with the edge ofthe itting surrounding its inlet opening to form a lubricant-tight seal therewith.

4. A coupler for high pressure lubricating systems comprising lubricant-pressure operated means for locking the coupler to a lubricant-receiving tting, a high-pressure sealing member having a discharge port of small diameter, a manually operable valve for relieving lubricant pressure within the coupler, said valve being bodily removable from the coupler, and a wire secured to said valve and of suiiiciently small diameter to be usableA to remove obstructions from the discharge port oi said sealing member.

ERNEST W. DAVIS. LYNN A. WILLIAMS, Jn. 

